David French explains at National Review Online why a permanent break between President Trump and former adviser Steve Bannon would be a positive development.
First, Bannon is the public figure who has done more than any other person to introduce the evil alt-right into mainstream American life. He bragged about turning Breitbart into the “platform” of that movement, backed one of its most prominent politicians in Paul Nehlen, and relentlessly promoted its foremost apologist, the noxious Milo Yiannopoulos. He was also reportedly one of the driving forces behind perhaps the worst moment of Trump’s term so far: the president’s decision to equivocate following the alt-right rally and terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Va.
Second, Bannon is the primary pseudo-intellectual advocate of the incoherent, destructive nationalist–populist ideology that he tried to transform into “Trumpism.” His isolationism would harm American national security, his protectionism would harm the American economy, and his populism veers dangerously into the realm of white-identity politics. If his influence over the president is truly at an end, the GOP will have a real chance to restore itself as a party of conservative ideas.
Third, Bannon’s fall gives space for better men and women to rise. There are good and decent people who work in this White House, people who haven’t merely latched on to Trump to leech off his fame and climb to power.
